Is it possible to reproduce Maya/ Houdini target/ point weld operators inside of Blender?
3DSMax also has an equivalent Target Weld, but as far as I know Merge at Last is Blenders closest operator. Unfortunately workflow involves dealing with the menu as you mention, making it unsuited for repeated use.
One possible workaround is using Blender's Auto Merge feature. While in Mesh Edit Mode, from the 3D View Header &gt; Options menu activate Auto Merge.
Just combine it with regular Move operator or the Tweak tool, overlapping vertex should automatically be removed.

Having vertex snapping turned on from the magnet icon on top makes it more reliable.
You can also toggle it on or off from the Tools Options from the 3D View Sidebar or Properties Window.